Facade element tracking systems and related techniques

ABSTRACT

An automated system can be used for tracking facade elements such as panels, glazing, or related structures, such as to help facilitate processing (e.g., fabrication) of such elements. Such a system can also facilitate management of other aspects of a life-cycle of a facade element, such as including one or more of design management or field monitoring. Such a system can include generating a unique identifier that is specific to a particular article, such as a panel or frame member, for example. Such a unique identifier can be used to track the article through the fabrication process.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This patent application is a continuation of Michael P. McGrath, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/907,558, titled “FACADE ELEMENT TRACKINGSYSTEMS AND RELATED TECHNIQUES,” filed on Jun. 22, 2020 (Attorney DocketNo. 6980.001US1), which claimed benefit of Michael P. McGrath, U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/867,708, titled “FACADEELEMENT TRACKING SYSTEMS AND RELATED TECHNIQUES,” filed on Jun. 27, 2019(Attorney Docket No. 6980.001PRV), the benefit of each of which ishereby presently claimed, and each of which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This document pertains generally, and not by way of limitation, tosystems and techniques for facilitating fabrication and tracking ofexterior and interior facades.

BACKGROUND

Facades may incorporate a variety of materials. For example,custom-designed residential, commercial, or industrial structures mayinvolve use of many different configurations of facade materials, andsuch materials may include metallic, composite or unitized panels andrelated support structures such as frame elements or hardware. Suchfacades may also include stone, ceramic materials, polymer materialssuch as acrylic, glass, glazing and related support structures such asframe elements or hardware. Generally, fabrication of such facadeelements may be performed off-site, and such elements may then betransported, and assembled or installed at a job site to form or cladpart of a structure.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In recent years, architectural facade elements such as metallic orcomposite panels have grown in popularity. Architects and structuraldesigners are using such materials in increasingly complexconfigurations, such as involving thousands of panels in a singleproject, where each panel may have different specifications. Suchspecifications can include one or more of dimensions, curvature, shape,bend features (such as to provide mounting or support flanges or otherfeatures), surface finish, color, or texture, as illustrative examples.Each facade element, such as a support frame, a panel, or an assembly,is generally designed, engineered, fabricated, inspected, shipped andinstalled, in conformity with a master architectural design. Fabricationof such elements can involve several processing steps, and in somecases, may involve processing (e.g., fabrication or inspection) atmultiple sites or across multiple vendors.

Management of the design, engineering, fabrication, inspection,shipment, and installation of facade elements can present variouschallenges. Generally, an architectural design for a structure mayinvolve various revisions or changes driven by design preferences orpractical considerations that arise as a project progresses. Facadeelements such as metal or composite panels are generally fabricated inaccordance with specifications extracted from the master design, andindividual elements may include specifications that shift over thecourse of the project. Generally, facade elements can include a metalpanel, a composite panel, a panel including glass, a portion of a metalpanel assembly, a portion of a composite panel assembly, or a portion ofa glass panel assembly, as examples.

Manual tracking of where a particular facade element, such as a panel,fits within the design, or whether the panel has been properlyfabricated, can be cumbersome and error prone. Determining whether theelement conforms to the desired specification also raise challenges,because inspection criteria might also change over the duration of aproject. The present inventor has recognized, among other things, thatthe fabrication of hundreds or even thousands of unique elements canpresent daunting challenges from a logistical perspective, such as withrespect to tracking which panels have been properly fabricated,inspected, or shipped.

Various process failures such as duplication of effort, re-work, wastedmaterial, or project delays may occur due to difficulties involved intracking, inspecting, shipping, or properly installing such elements,particularly when no automated tracking is performed. For example,absent the teachings related to the systems and techniques describedherein, supervisors and managers responsible for fabrication of suchfacade elements may have only limited visibility into where processbottlenecks or quality issues are occurring, Even if an organizationwere aware of such difficulties, a lack of traceability extending fromthe design all the way to the field may preclude helpful revisions tothe process or changes to the panel configuration.

To address such challenges, the present inventor has also recognized,among other things, that an automated system for tracking facadeelements such as panels, glazing, or related structures, can helpfacilitate processing of such elements. Such a system can alsofacilitate management of other aspects of a life-cycle of a facadeelement, such as including one or more of design, material handling,project management and field monitoring. Such a system can includegenerating a unique identifier that is specific to a particular article,such as a panel or frame member, for example. The unique identifier canbe a portion of a label or other indicium affixed to the article (e.g.,including a bar code or other information), and can be used to providetraceability of a particular article to a referenced design (e.g.,relating the unique identifier to a “release” identifier), or to trackone or more of fabrication, inspection, re-work, shipping, installation,and field performance of the article. The article can include a facadeelement that is installed as an architectural feature of a building.

In an example, a technique such as a computer-implemented or otherwisemachine-implement method for tracking of facade elements for a structurecan include receiving an identifier indicative of a facade element, theidentifier scanned from the facade element, and in response, withoutrequiring further user input, automatically retrieving a recordcorresponding to the facade element and generating a presentation for auser indicative of at least a portion of the record. The presentationcan include an indicium of a status of the facade element relative to aspecified project comprising multiple facade elements and at least twoselectable elements, the two selectable elements including a firstselectable element that, in response to user selection, alters thestatus of the facade element within the record and a second selectableelement that, in response to user selection, triggers generation of apresentation for the user prompting the user to provide data indicativeof a result of an inspection operation for the facade element.

For example, in response to user selection of the second selectableelement, the technique can include generating a presentation for theuser prompting the user to provide an image and a correspondingdescription documenting the inspection operation. The correspondingdescription can include a defect or inspection (e.g., one or more ofquality monitoring, control, or assurance) report, and a status of theof the facade element can be updated in response to a receivedindication from a user indicative of whether the facade elementsatisfies one or more criteria corresponding to the inspectionoperation, such as after rework or supplemental inspection. In anexample, in response to receiving the identifier indicative of thefacade element, a presentation can be generated comprising a graphicalrepresentation of at least a portion of the specified project includinga visual indicium showing a location of the facade element amongst otherones of the multiple facade elements in an installation.

In an example, a technique as shown and described herein can beimplemented using a system. For example, a system for tracking of facadeelements for a structure can include a user device comprising at leastone processor circuit and at least one memory circuit, the memorycircuit comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor circuit, cause the user device to receive an identifierindicative of a facade element, the identifier scanned from the facadeelement. In response, without requiring further user input, a record canbe automatically retrieved corresponding to the facade element andgenerate a presentation for a user indicative of at least a portion ofthe record, the presentation including an indicium of a status of thefacade element relative to a specified project comprising multiplefacade elements and at least two selectable elements, the two selectableelements including a first selectable element that, in response to userselection, alters the status of the facade element within the record anda second selectable element that, in response to user selection,triggers generation of a presentation for the user prompting the user toprovide data indicative of a result of an inspection operation for thefacade element.

In an example, the user device is coupled to a display or comprises adisplay and the instructions comprise instructions to, in response touser selection of the second selectable element, generate a presentationfor the user prompting, via the display, the user to provide an imageand a corresponding description documenting the inspection operation. Aportion of the system such as the user device, can include or can becommunicatively coupled to at least one of an optical scanner or acamera. The instructions to receive the identifier can includeinstructions to receive data indicative of the identifier obtained usingthe optical scanner or the camera, the identifier encoded using a barcode applied to the facade element.

This summary is intended to provide an overview of subject matter of thepresent patent application. It is not intended to provide an exclusiveor exhaustive explanation of the invention. The detailed description isincluded to provide further information about the present patentapplication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numeralsmay describe similar components in different views. Like numerals havingdifferent letter suffixes may represent different instances of similarcomponents. The drawings illustrate generally, by way of example, butnot by way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the presentdocument.

FIG. 1 illustrates generally an illustrative example comprising aframework that can be used for one or more of design, engineering,fabrication, inspection, shipment, and installation, such as facilitatedby a system or technique including automated tracking as provided by thepresent subject matter.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example comprising a systemupon which any one or more of the techniques discussed herein may beperformed.

FIG. 3 illustrates generally a technique, such as a computer-implementedmethod, showing an example comprising receiving an identifier indicativeof a facade element and generating a presentation for a user indicativeof at least a portion of a record automatically retrieved in response tothe received identifier.

FIG. 4 illustrates generally a technique, such as a computer-implementedmethod, showing an example comprising prompting a user, such as via agraphical user interface, to complete a questionnaire, such as inrelation to an inspection operation, and such as can be presented in aform similar to the illustrative examples of one or more of FIG. 7 orFIG. 8.

FIG. 5 illustrates generally a technique, such as a computer-implementedmethod, showing an example comprising operations that can be performed,such as support of fabrication operations relating to facade elementsincluding related automated tracking as provided by the present subjectmatter.

FIG. 6 illustrates generally an illustrative example comprising apresentation, such as can be presented to a user to provide a graphicaluser interface for interaction with automation provided by a facadeelement tracking system.

FIG. 7 illustrates generally an illustrative example comprising apresentation, such as can be presented to a user to provide a graphicaluser interface for interaction with automation provided by a facadeelement tracking system, such as in relation to a specified operation ina facade element workflow.

FIG. 8 illustrates generally an illustrative example comprising apresentation, such as can be presented to a user to provide a graphicaluser interface, such as to capture inspection or defect information fromthe user.

FIG. 9 illustrates generally an illustrative example comprising apresentation, such as can be presented to a user to provide a dashboardor other reporting of data assembled using a facade element trackingsystem as shown and described herein.

FIG. 10 illustrates generally an illustrative example comprising apresentation, such as can be presented to a user to provide a graphicalrepresentation of at least a portion of a specified project including avisual indicium showing a location of the facade element amongst otherones of the multiple facade elements in an installation.

FIG. 11 illustrates generally an illustrative example comprising apresentation, such as can be presented to a user to provide a graphicalrepresentation of at least a portion of a specified project includingvisual indicia showing a status of respective facade elements in aninstallation.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an example comprising a machineupon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies)discussed herein may be performed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An automated system and related techniques as shown and described hereincan be used for tracking facade elements such as panels, glazing, orrelated structures, such as to help facilitate processing (e.g.,fabrication) of such elements. Such a system can also facilitatemanagement of other aspects of a lifecycle of a facade element, such asincluding one or more of design management and field monitoring. Such asystem can include generating a unique identifier that is specific to aparticular article, such as a panel or frame member, for example. Such aunique identifier can be used to track the article through thefabrication process, and optionally, throughout one or more ofinstallation and field-monitoring phases of the lifecycle, such as alife-cycle illustrated generally in the example of the framework 100 ofFIG. 1. Generally, as mentioned above and elsewhere herein, an automatedsystem for facade element tracking can include one or more of thefollowing examples. For example, facade elements such as parts beingfabrication can be tracked back to the electronic databases such ascomputer-aided-design (CAD), computer aided manufacturing (CAM) or arepresentation thereof, including one or more of assignment of a trackedarticle to a corresponding design release, presentation of a designrepresentation (e.g., a two-dimensional projection or athree-dimensional representation) where a tracked article can be calledout in response to receiving a unique identifier or a design releasereference, or presentation of a design representation where a selectionof a portion of the design representation by a user can triggerpresentation of one or more of data about the design release, statusinformation with respect to articles corresponding to the designrelease, or other reporting.

Facade elements can be tracked through fabrication, such as usingelectronic scanners (e.g., optical bar code scanners) to receive anindication that an article has entered (e.g., initiated) or exited(e.g., completed) a processing step. Such processing steps can includeone or more of: design release (e.g., approval of a design forfabrication), cutting or machining, punching or drilling, bending,marking, surface treating (e.g., painting, texturing, passivating,plating, or the like), inspecting, storing, crating, shipping,unloading, or installing, as illustrative examples. Scanning of anarticle can trigger other processing operations, such as triggeringpresentation of a checklist or instructions, requesting a photo of anarticle, or performance of inspection step, such as including promptinga user to enter or transmit data (e.g., indicative of a measurementresult or observation). Scanning of an article can trigger generation ofa report or trigger retrieval or presentation of information oranalytics, relating to tooling, setup data (e.g., a cutting program forCNC or laser cut operation), or other information to facilitatefabrication, such as traceable to a specified design referenceassociated with the article unique identifier. Tracking of facadeelements can include managing shipment of such elements, such asfacilitating automated generation of a packing list by receiving scannedindicia of unique references of articles as they are prepared forloading or loaded into a shipping container such as a crate. Forexample, scanning of an article can trigger inclusion of other items inthe packing list, such as prompting the user to include certain tools,personal protective equipment (PPE), packing materials, or to performother tasks. For example, scanning a particular article can trigger auser to take a photo of the article after being crated, such as may berequired under contract or for insurance purposes.

In an example, tracking of facade elements can occur before, during, orafter installation, such as using electronic scanners (e.g., optical barcode scanners) to receive an indication that an article has entered(e.g., initiated) or exited (e.g., completed) an installation step. Suchinstallation steps can include one or more of: assembling, punching ordrilling, bending, marking, cutting, fastening, inspecting, orinstalling, as illustrative examples. Scanning of an article can triggerother processing operations, such as triggering presentation of achecklist or instructions, requesting a photo of an article, orperformance of inspection step, such as including prompting a user toenter or transmit data (e.g., indicative of a measurement result orobservation).

In an example, scanning of an article can trigger generation of a reportor trigger retrieval or presentation of information and analytics,relating to information to facilitate installation, such as traceable toa specified design reference associated with the article uniqueidentifier. For example, reports can be generated pertaining to statusof facade elements, such as with respect to processing steps, defectrates or instances, by design reference (e.g., sorted by designrelease), or relating to other criteria, such as to facilitate projectmanagement or monitoring of productivity. Tracking using systems andtechniques as described herein can include one or more of generation offorms relating to completion of a portion or an entirety of thefabrication process or relating to aspects such as inspection or defectobservations. Tracking using systems and techniques as described hereincan include integration with outside vendors or tools, such as toreceive data such as indicative of inspection or fabrication operationsand to aggregate such data with other data relating to an article uniqueidentifier, or tracking of facade element performance in the field, suchas allowing entry of inspection or defect observations that can beaggregated with a record corresponding to an article unique identifier,as further illustrative examples. Operations and data that can betracked, generated, or automatically retrieved in response to receivinga unique identifier are shown illustratively in the example of theframework 100 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 illustrates generally an illustrative example comprising aframework 100 that can be used for one or more of design, engineering,fabrication, inspection, shipment, and installation, such as facilitatedby a system or technique including automated tracking as provided by thepresent subject matter. The techniques and systems described herein,such as the system 200 of the example of FIG. 2 and the technique 300 ofthe example FIG. 3, can be used to support a portion or an entirety ofthe framework 100 shown in FIG. 1.

For example, in FIG. 1, fabrication 102 of a facade element such as ametal or composite panel, generally involves receiving a specification,such as specified by a part design 116. The part design may be describedusing a physical specification drawing or using mechanicalcomputer-aided design (MCAD) data, such as accompanying a materialspecification. Releases or other revisions of the part design 116 can bemaintained, such as to provide tracking of changes occurring throughouta design or build process. The techniques described herein can associateone or more of data from a master design 112, assembly design 114, orpart design 116 with a part being fabricated before or duringfabrication 102, such as tracked by a unique, scannable identifieraffixed to the part or otherwise applied to the part (e.g., a bar codeor a wirelessly-readable tag such as a radio-frequency identificationtag).

The fabrication 102 can include various operations, such as one or moreof a machining operation, a folding operation, a scoring operation, or acutting operation, as illustrative examples. Using the techniquesdescribed herein, a status of a part being fabricated can be tracked,and setup or configuration data such as control data for fabricationequipment can be automatically retrieved or related prompts to operatorscan be generated in response to a receiving a unique identifierassociated with a part. A tracking system as shown and described hereincan generate automated alerts or notifications (e.g., “push”notifications such as email or wirelessly-delivered messages such as SMSmessages), such as in response to specified criteria. For example,completion of individual elements or groups of elements can be used totrigger reporting or such reporting can be automatically generated on aspecified (e.g., recurring) basis. In another example, notifications canbe generated when one or more defect reports are received, or when adefect rate corresponding to specified project, specified assembly, orspecified part exceeds a specified rate or other criterion.

During or after fabrication 102, an inspection 104 can be performed. Theinspection may include use of one or more standardized or part-specificchecklists (e.g., a questionnaire or other form). Such inspection 104can include verifying dimensional specifications, such as according tocriteria relating to a shape or location of a scribe, an etch, a cut, ora fold in a facade element. Other inspection criteria can includesubjective or objective measures of surface texture, surface finish,color, or evidence of visible defects such as scratches or dents, asillustrative examples.

Fabrication 102 and inspection 104 of individual facade elements such aspanels, or related assemblies, may occur at a manufacturing site, andthe facade elements are then transported to a job site in order to beinstalled. The framework 100 can include a shipping 106 operation, suchas where a packing list is generated, any required tools or packingmaterials are gathered, and a shipping container such as a crate orpallet is prepared. In the field (such as at or nearby the job site),installation 108 can be performed, and other operations such asintermediate or final inspection 110 can also be performed. Assembly 118may occur in the field, such as during or prior to installation 108. Forexample, composite, metallic, ceramic, polymer (e.g., acrylic) or glasselements can be mated with relating support elements such as framestructures, or groups of such elements can be assembled than installedas a unit, as illustrative examples. Data tracked in the field caninclude one or more of status of individual elements (e.g., received infield, installation in-process, installation complete, unit defective,etc.). Such data can include one or more checklists such as for qualityassurance or defect reporting, or other data such as specifieddimensions, actual measured dimensions, notes concerning defects orinspection results, or imaging. Longer-term monitoring activities (e.g.,extending beyond project completion) can also be tracked, such as forpurposes of monitoring for aging (e.g., corrosion, fading) or defectsconcerning fit or detachment, as illustrative examples.

The framework 100 shown in FIG. 1 can include other elements, such asmaterial handling 120. Material handling 120 can be defined as one ormore of inventory control (e.g., tracking of raw materials, intermediategoods, or finished parts or assemblies, as examples). Material handling120 can include generation of order or management of data from vendors,such as vendor fabrication data or inspection data (e.g., to facilitatequality assurance or provide for auditing capability).

The framework 100 shown in FIG. 1 can include other elements, such asmanagement or storage of a master design 112 (e.g., such as defined byMCAD data, material specifications, and subject to revision control).The master design 112 can define one or more assemblies, such asdescribed by an assembly design 114 (e.g., similarly defined by one ormore of MCAD data, material specifications, or revision level). One ormore of the master design 112 (e.g., corresponding to a specifiedproject) or assembly design 114 may specify individual part designs 116,such as corresponding to individual ones of facade elements (if unique)or to groups of facade elements having similar specifications. Forexample, within the context of a facade element tracking system asdescribed herein, a specified design can include a master design havingone or more associated assembly designs, with such assembly designhaving one or more associated part designs, such defined in ahierarchical manner.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example comprising a system 200upon which any one or more of the techniques discussed herein may beperformed, such as to support tracking of operations as shown generallyin the framework 100 of FIG. 1. The system 200 of FIG. 2 can includeeither a centralized server 204 or cloud-based service, such as toprovide a database 202 that can store data indicative of uniqueidentifiers corresponding to facade elements. A facade element caninclude a metallic or composite panel 212D or other part, and anindicium of the unique identifier, such as a bar code 220, can beaffixed to the panel 212D or otherwise indicated on the panel (e.g., byetching, laser marking, mechanically scribing, etc.). The system 200 cantrack a facade element from design through fabrication, shipping, andinstallation, such as integrating with computer-aided design tools. Forexample, data indicative of a portion or an entirety of an architecturalfacade design 262 can include design data concerning respective elements(such as a panel 260). The panel 260 design data itself or a uniquedesign reference identifier can be provided for storage in the database202. Tracking of initiation of work, completion, re-work, or defects canbe performed during the fabrication process. For example, processingoperations such as laser cutting 252 (or mechanical cutting, forexample), can include scanning the bar code 220 to indicate that a panel212A is entering or exiting the laser cutting 252 operation. Forexample, scanning the bar code 220 can prompt a controller of the lasercutting 252 to automatically load or prompt loading of an appropriatecontrol program corresponding to the design 260 for the panel 212A.

Tracking can occur before, during, or after other processing, such asperformed automatically or in response to a user input, such asincluding scanning or reading of an identifier. For example, the barcode 220 can be scanned before, during, or after a bending operation254. Inspection can also be triggered, such as automatically obtaining ameasurement or prompting an operator to measure a panel 212B aftercompletion of a bend operation. The tracking scheme shown herein canalso be used to facilitate generation of packing lists, such as allowingcompleted panels 212C to be individual scanned as loaded into a crate242, with a separate bar code 230 being one or more of generated orscanned to relate a unique crate identifier to the panels 212C withinthe crate. A photo or other documentation can be obtained eitherautomatically or via generation of a prompt to a user, such as todocument a condition of the crate 242 before shipment.

Tracking can also be performed in the field, such as using a mobiledevice 214. The mobile device 214 (or a tablet or other device) can belinked back to the server 204, such as via a wireless network 210. Otherdevice can access the tracking data, such as for reporting or qualityevaluation, such as using a laptop 208 or other device, communicativelycoupled to the server 204 either through a wired or wireless network 210(e.g., a local area network or a cellular data network, for example).

One or more of the aspects of the subject matter mentioned above orelsewhere herein can be instantiated in a run-time version of thetracking system 200, such as a mobile device or tablet application, suchas without requiring an always-on network or cellular data connection.The system 200 can queue information obtained using the mobile device ortablet application for later transmission to a repository, such as adatabase 202 located centrally in a server 204 or provided by acloud-based facility.

In an example, a system 200 as described herein can include a repositoryof data concerning the association between an article unique identifierand other information such as one or more of a design reference (e.g., adesign release corresponding to the article), a status regarding one ormore process steps such as fabrication operations, observations orinspection results including indicia of acceptance of quality or defect,an indicium of rework or scrap, data concerning shipping or receipt ofthe article, installation, or field observations, as illustrativeexamples. The repository can be a relational database 202, such asaccessible using an SQL scheme, and the repository can be eithercentralized or cloud-based, such as decentralized or mirrored. Thedatabase 202 can be accessed by a client, such as a server providing aweb-based user interface or an Application Programming Interface (API)facilitating integration with a mobile device or tablet application. Thesystem can be configured to receive data (such as via a wired orwireless network connection) from a client device, such as aworkstation, mobile device, or tablet, or such as obtained by ahand-held or permanently-installed scanner or camera. Such data caninclude the unique identified as scanned by a hand-held scanner orcamera. The system 200 can perform various operations automatically,such as generating one or more presentations for interaction with a userautomatically in response to a scanned identifier. In this manner,users, such as operators of fabrication equipment, can interact with thetracking system in an intuitive manner and with one or more of reducedlabor or reduced error as compared to manual tracking approaches. Forexample, in a manual approach, a work order for fabrication of a partmay be provided on paper and an operator may need to manually review thework order and determine appropriate further actions. A risk may existthat incorrect fabrication setup or materials may be used, andcompletion of a fabrication operation may involve manually documentingsuch completion such as by annotating a physical form or physicallyplacing completed parts in another location for further processing.

The present inventor has recognized, among other things, that suchoperations are error prone and provide poor or no visibility tomanagement or partners concerning productivity, completion, or defectrates, as illustrative examples. The present inventor has alsorecognized, among other things, that errors can be made, such as duringone or more of fabrication, shipping, or installation. Use of systemsand techniques as shown and described herein (e.g. a system 200 such ascan be used to perform techniques as shown in one or more of FIG. 3,FIG. 4, or FIG. 5) can assist in one or more of suppressing such errorsor providing early identification of emerging quality issues such asmaterial or fabrication defects, or even design flaws precluding orinhibiting installation. Such a system solves a technical problem ofproviding a simplified user interface and central repository for suchinformation, including capability to track installation and defectswithout requiring extensive data entry by users. Such a system canprovide a user environment, such as a graphical user interface, to allowa uniform user experience implementing the techniques shown herein in acommonly-shared environment, such as accessible using a web browser orrun-time client application.

FIG. 3 illustrates generally a technique 300, such as acomputer-implemented method, showing an example comprising receiving anidentifier indicative of a facade element at 305 and at 315 generating apresentation for a user indicative of at least a portion of a recordautomatically retrieved in response to the received identifier. In theexample of FIG. 3, a user such as an operator of fabrication equipmentor a material handling person can scan a unique identifier associatedwith a facade element such as a part or an assembly. The user need nototherwise enter any information concerning the status or nature of theelement. For example, the user may have a unique identifier such as abar code or proximity-based identification badge identifying the user.Once the user has been authenticated, a presentation can be generatedprompting the user to scan an identifier corresponding to a facadeelement, such as associated with a part or assembly being trackedthrough production or installation. For example, a workstation such asat a manufacturing site can have an idle state requesting a user to scanan identifier such as a bar code. FIG. 6 illustrates generally anillustrative example of such a presentation. Such a presentation can bepresented using a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an operatorinterface on a piece of fabrication equipment, or a mobile device suchas a cellular phone or tablet, as illustrative examples.

In the illustrative example of FIG. 3, and as applicable to otherexamples herein, the receiving the identifier indicative of a facadeelement at 305 can include scanning a bar code or interrogating aradio-frequency identification (RFID) tag. In response, at 310, withoutrequiring further user input, a record corresponding to the facadeelement can be retrieved, and a presentation can be generated at 315 fora user indicative of at least a portion of the retrieved record. Thepresentation can include an indicium of a status of the facade elementrelative to a specified project comprising multiple facade elements andat least two selectable elements, the two selectable elements includinga first selectable element that, in response to user selection, altersthe status of the facade element within the record and a secondselectable element that, in response to user selection, triggersgeneration of a presentation for the user prompting the user to providedata indicative of a result of an inspection operation for the facadeelement. For example, FIG. 7 illustrates generally such a presentation,showing an operational phase of fabrication, along with selectableelements (e.g. buttons).

Use of the technique of FIG. 3 allows an operator or other user toretrieve a record associated with a facade element and to either updatethe status of the facade element (e.g., showing initiation or completionof an operation), or to enter information indicative of an inspectionoperation, such as documenting a defect. FIG. 6 illustrates generally anillustrative example of such a presentation. Such a presentation can bepresented using a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an operatorinterface on a piece of fabrication equipment, or a mobile device suchas a cellular phone or tablet, as illustrative examples. As an example,at 325, the user can optionally select a user-interface element such asa button on a graphical user interface, such as by touching atouch-screen display or clicking on the button using an input device.The facade element tracking system can receive the selection and can, inresponse, alter the status of the facade element in the correspondingrecord. For example, the status can be updated to indicate completion ofa fabrication operation. As an example, at 335, the user can optionallyselect a user interface element such as a button, and the system canreceive the selection and prompt the user to enter data indicative of aninspection. For example, as shown and described in other examplesherein, the selection can indicate that the user wishes to reject thepart or assembly, and the data indicative of the inspection can includereasons for rejection or other inspections operations.

The technique 300 can include automatically generating a report at 340,such as to indicate a status of a plurality of facade elements, eitherrelative to a specified project, or a specified fabrication operation,as illustrative examples. Other reporting can be automaticallygenerated, such as providing statistics concerning a particular operatoror user, or statistics indicative of other items such as inspectionresults or defect lists. The technique 300 can include generating apacking list at 345. For example, as mentioned above, a user can scanidentifiers corresponding to facade elements and the system can generatea packing list at 345, including optionally prompting the user toretrieve packing materials or tools specific to the scanned identifiers,for inclusion in a shipping unit. The tracking system performing thetechnique 300 can optionally prompt the user to capture an image of theelements being shipped or the shipping unit, or both, such as todocument a condition of the elements prior to shipping in case damageoccurs downstream.

FIG. 4 illustrates generally a technique 400, such as acomputer-implemented method, showing an example comprising prompting auser, such as via a graphical user interface, to complete aquestionnaire, such as in relation to an inspection operation, and suchas can be presented in a form similar to the illustrative examples ofone or more of FIG. 7 or FIG. 8. For example, if an input from user isreceived indicating completion of a fabrication, shipment, orinstallation operation, the user may be prompted at 405 to complete aquestionnaire. Such a questionnaire may be a routine or randomly-issuedquestionnaire relating to quality assurance, or the questionnaire may bein the form of a checklist performed as specified phases of fabrication,shipping, installation, or during other operations. For example, theuser may be prompted at 410 to enter dimensions or other data indicativeof inspection results, as mentioned elsewhere herein (e.g., bendlocations, part dimensions, cut or scribe line locations, etc.). At 415,the user may be prompted to capture an image or otherwise attach a file.A status of the facade element may be updated in response to completionof a questionnaire or in response to specific elements in thequestionnaire (e.g., user indicates that facade element has passedinspection or one or more values such as dimensions are automaticallydetermined to fall within a specified range).

As an example, if the facade element tracking system is used acrossmultiple sites, a vendor or manufacturing site may be asked to trackproduction or inspection data relating to parts or raw materials and maybe prompted to attach test data or inspection data, which are thenassociated with a facade element in a centralized repository. As anillustrative example, a facade element such as a metal panel may includeuse of sheet stock having a specified surface finish. Test dataindicative of the surface finish (e.g., roughness or colorimetrymeasurements) can be entered at 415 and the data may be associated withintermediate or finished panels to form a record from raw materialthrough installation corresponding to the panel or other element.

In another example, the system may receive an indication from a user(e.g., clicking on or touching a “reject!” button on a graphical userinterface) causing the technique 400 to prompt the user to document therejection, such as prompting the user to capture or attach a photo at415 showing the defect.

FIG. 5 illustrates generally a technique 500, such as acomputer-implemented method, showing an example comprising operationsthat can be performed, such as support of fabrication operationsrelating to facade elements including related automated tracking asprovided by the present subject matter. At 505, an identifier isreceived, such as a unique identifier corresponding to an individualfacade element to be fabricated. The identifier can include a bar codeattached to a sheet of stock. In an example, the identifier can beincluded as a portion of a project work order. For example, at 510, inresponse to receiving an identifier indicative of a specified project ora specified assembly, a work order can be generated for fabrication ofone or more facade elements such as individual parts comprising theassembly or otherwise forming a portion of the project. Generally, theidentifier received at 505 corresponds to part or assembly beingfabricated. At 515, optionally, configuration data such as a setup fileor specified tooling can be automatically identified for use infabricating the part or assembly.

At 520, optionally, material can be retrieved, or a bill-of-materialscan be generated or updated to indicate materials used for thefabrication operation. Optionally, at 545, an inventory record can beupdated to indicate usage of material such as sheet stock. Uponcompletion of a fabrication operation, the identifier 525 can bereceived again, and the technique 500 can include tracking completion ofan operation. As an illustrative example, an operator can receive eitherraw material or a part in-process and can scan a barcode affixed to theraw material or part-in-process or otherwise associated with the rawmaterial or part-in-process. The system can receive the identifier at505 and can update a corresponding record to show that the part isin-process at the operator station. Upon completion of the operation,the operator can again scan the identifier at 525, and the system cantrack completion of the operation at 530. Operations such as 505 through530 can be repeated for different fabrication operations, such asmarking, cutting, or bending, as illustrative examples.

Optionally, such as at 535, inspection data can be received, either inresponse to prompting the user to enter such data as mentionedelsewhere, or in response to receiving an indication from a user that adefect report or other inspection observation is to be made. Optionally,such as at 540, a packing list can be generated, such as after otherfabrication operations are logged as complete by the system. Asmentioned in relation to other examples herein, packing list generationcan include prompting a user to provide specified packing materials ortools in the shipping unit, and can facilitate capture of documentationof the shipping unit such as receiving imaging data of the containerprior to being sealed and shipped.

FIG. 6 illustrates generally an illustrative example comprising apresentation 600, such as can be presented to a user to provide agraphical user interface for interaction with automation provided by afacade element tracking system. The presentation can be displayed usinga desktop, laptop, tablet, or cellular device. User input can bereceived in response to a user pressing one or more buttons using atouch-screen or digitizer, or in response to user input provided byother input devices such as a keyboard or mouse. The presentation 600 ofFIG. 6 can include an indicium 660 that the facade element trackingsystem is ready to receive an identifier corresponding to a facadeelement. Such an identifier can be provided using a camera from a mobiledevice or a fixed camera, or using a fixed or hand-held bar codescanner, as illustrative examples. Other tagging techniques can be used,such as providing the identifier by placing a proximity scanner orwireless scanner nearby an RFID tag or moving a part across a staticscanner. The presentation 600 can include buttons allowing a user toenter notes at 662 concerning an identified (e.g., “active”) facadeelement, or to track the facade element at 670 (e.g., to document thatthe facade element has entered or exited a fabrication operation, forexample). At 668, a user selection to reject the facade element can bereceived, such as providing a drop-down menu of commonly-used defectdescriptions. At 664, a user selection can be received to prompt theuser to upload a file such as a photo or other data concerning theidentified facade element.

FIG. 7 illustrates generally an illustrative example comprising apresentation 700, such as can be presented to a user to provide agraphical user interface for interaction with automation provided by afacade element tracking system, such as in relation to a specifiedoperation in a facade element workflow. The presentation of FIG. 7 caninclude elements similar to FIG. 6, but can also present other elementssuch as a sidebar 774 for accessing other portions of the trackingsystem. For example, in the presentation 700, a part numbercorresponding to a received identifier 772 has been loaded and thepresentation 700 indicates that the tracked part is at a panel-levellaser-cutting operation. Receiving a user selection indicating “Track!”at 670 will log completion of the laser-cutting operation in thisillustrative example. Optionally, the system can receive notes enteredby a user at 662 or an attached file at 664, such as associating suchitems with the selected identifier 772. Other portions of the trackingsystem can be access such as by receiving a user selection to performshipping crate management, report generation, or dashboard display usingthe drop-down menus accessible from the sidebar 774. If an indication isreceived from the user to “Reject!” the identified part corresponding tothe identifier 772, a questionnaire or other display can be generated.Permissions can be established in a secure manner so that specifiedusers only see certain specified options in the sidebar 774 or are onlyable to select certain buttons or other inputs. As mentioned above,operations performed by a user such as tracking of completion offabrication operations or logging defect reports can be associated witha unique user identifier, such scanned in manner similar to scanningfacade element identifiers.

For example, FIG. 8 illustrates generally an illustrative examplecomprising a presentation 800, such as can be presented to a user toprovide a graphical user interface, such as to capture inspection ordefect information from the user. The form of the rejected work (orother form) can be modified by an administrative user, and pertinentdetails concerning the rejected part can be captured as shown generallyin FIG. 8. Other questionnaires or forms can be presented, such asbefore, during, or after specified operations. For example, inspectionoperations can be triggered with corresponding forms upon completion ofspecified operations or on a random (e.g., lot-sampling) basis.

FIG. 9 illustrates generally an illustrative example comprising apresentation 900, such as can be presented to a user to provide adashboard or other reporting of data assembled using a facade elementtracking system as shown and described herein. The reports shown in FIG.9 can provide a master design or project-level view of tracked facadeelements. For example, a region 990 can show counts of various trackedoperations over a specified prior duration (e.g., over the last sevendays or some other duration). A region 992 can show cumulative counts ofvarious tracked operations to date. A region 994 can show defect orother inspection observations, such as providing abbreviated dataconcerning a phase or nature of the observation. In the example of FIG.9, the region 994 illustrates a panel number (e.g., a unique identifiercorresponding to individual facade panels), and a corresponding trackedoperation where the defect or other observation was reported. Thegraphical meters shown in FIG. 9 show cumulative counts of a facadeelements received on-site at the job site, and installed at the jobsite. Other dashboard formats can be generated within the trackingsystem, such as showing a “leaderboard” of users, operators, orfabrication operations having a highest throughput of operations or alowest defect rate, as illustrative examples.

FIG. 10 illustrates generally an illustrative example comprising apresentation 1000, such as can be presented to a user to provide agraphical representation of at least a portion of a specified project(e.g., a master design 1080) including a visual indicium 1010 showing alocation of the facade element amongst other ones of the multiple facadeelements in an installation. As an illustrative example, a user canprovide an identifier such as scanning or keying in the identifier andthe corresponding location or locations in the master design 1080 usingthe facade element can be highlighted, such as shaded or colored toindicate such locations. A sidebar in the presentation 1000 canautomatically generate selectable elements corresponding to supportingdetails concerning one or more of the master design 1080, an assembly,or individual selected parts. For example, the indicium 1010corresponding to a selected element allows retrieval by the system ofsupporting drawings, such as by receiving a indication at 1012 from auser to retrieve a drawing, or a bill-of-materials at 1014, asillustrative examples. In this manner, a user can explore a design 1080and rapidly retrieve corresponding documentation concerning an “active”facade element that has been scanned. In an example, a user can click ortouch portions of the representation of the master design 1080 orre-orient the representation of the maser design 1080 to select portionsof the master design 1080 and corresponding details concerning anewly-selected element can be displayed in the sidebar in response toreceiving the user selection via the representation of the maser design1080.

Similarly, FIG. 11 illustrates generally an illustrative examplecomprising a presentation 1100, such as can be presented to a user toprovide a graphical representation of at least a portion of a specifiedproject including visual indicia showing a status of respective facadeelements in an installation. For example, a master design 1180 can bedisplayed and regions such as a region 1110A can be shaded, patterned,or colored differently than other regions to provide an indication of astatus of facade elements located in the region 1110A. For example, asshown in the key 1110B, several different operations can be representedby the presentation 1100, such as concerning one or more ofinstallation, inspection, or other on-site operations. A presentation1100 can also be used to display a fabrication status or an indicationas to whether elements to be located in the region 1110A have beenreceived or shipped, as illustrative examples.

Generally, the presentations described in this document can bemachine-generated or other techniques described herein can be machineimplemented and such presentations can be provided as user-accessibleelements of a tracking system (such as a system 200 as shown in FIG. 2to assist in tracking facade elements through a framework 100 as shownin FIG. 1). The tracking system can be accessible via a browser orotherwise instantiated as a run-time client configured to communicatewith a server or other resource. FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram ofan example comprising a machine 1200 upon which any one or more of thetechniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed herein may be performed. Invarious examples, the machine 1200 may operate as a standalone device ormay be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine 1200 may operate in the capacity of a servermachine, a client machine, or both in server-client networkenvironments. In an example, the machine 1200 may act as a peer machinein peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Themachine 1200 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet device, a set-topbox (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a webappliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as aservice (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations.

Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate by, logic ora number of components, or mechanisms. Circuitry is a collection ofcircuits implemented in tangible entities that include hardware (e.g.,simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.). Circuitry membership may beflexible over time and underlying hardware variability. Circuitriesinclude members that may, alone or in combination, perform specifiedoperations when operating. In an example, hardware of the circuitry maybe immutably designed to carry out a specific operation (e.g.,hardwired). In an example, the hardware comprising the circuitry mayinclude variably connected physical components (e.g., execution units,transistors, simple circuits, etc.) including a computer readable mediumphysically modified (e.g., magnetically, electrically, such as via achange in physical state or transformation of another physicalcharacteristic, etc.) to encode instructions of the specific operation.In connecting the physical components, the underlying electricalproperties of a hardware constituent may be changed, for example, froman insulating characteristic to a conductive characteristic or viceversa. The instructions enable embedded hardware (e.g., the executionunits or a loading mechanism) to create members of the circuitry inhardware via the variable connections to carry out portions of thespecific operation when in operation. Accordingly, the computer readablemedium is communicatively coupled to the other components of thecircuitry when the device is operating. In an example, any of thephysical components may be used in more than one member of more than onecircuitry. For example, under operation, execution units may be used ina first circuit of a first circuitry at one point in time and reused bya second circuit in the first circuitry, or by a third circuit in asecond circuitry at a different time.

Machine (e.g., computer system) 1200 may include a hardware processor1202 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a mainmemory 1204 and a static memory 1206, some or all of which maycommunicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 1208. Themachine 1200 may further include a display unit 1210, an alphanumericinput device 1212 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI)navigation device 1214 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit1210, input device 1212 and UI navigation device 1214 may be a touchscreen display. The machine 1200 may additionally include a storagedevice (e.g., drive unit) 1216, a signal generation device 1218 (e.g., aspeaker), a network interface device 1220, and one or more sensors 1221,such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass,accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 1200 may include an outputcontroller 1228, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB),parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near fieldcommunication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one ormore peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

The storage device 1216 may include a machine readable medium 1222 onwhich is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1224(e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of thetechniques or functions described herein. The instructions 1224 may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 1204,within static memory 1206, or within the hardware processor 1202 duringexecution thereof by the machine 1200. In an example, one or anycombination of the hardware processor 1202, the main memory 1204, thestatic memory 1206, or the storage device 1216 may constitute machinereadable media.

While the machine readable medium 1222 is illustrated as a singlemedium, the term “machine readable medium” may include a single mediumor multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers) configured to store the one or moreinstructions 1224.

The term “machine readable medium” may include any medium that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution bythe machine 1200 and that cause the machine 1200 to perform any one ormore of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated withsuch instructions. Non-limiting machine readable medium examples mayinclude solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media.Accordingly, machine-readable media are not transitory propagatingsignals. Specific examples of massed machine readable media may include:non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g.,Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memorydevices; magnetic or other phase-change or state-change memory circuits;magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks;magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

The instructions 1224 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 1226 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 1220 utilizing any one of a number of transferprotocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmissioncontrol protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet datanetwork (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellularnetworks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless datanetworks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family ofstandards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards,peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the networkinterface device 1220 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g.,Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect tothe communications network 1226. In an example, the network interfacedevice 1220 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelesslycommunicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO),multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output(MISO) techniques. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken toinclude any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding orcarrying instructions for execution by the machine 1200, and includesdigital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium tofacilitate communication of such software.

Various Notes

Each of the non-limiting aspects above can stand on its own or can becombined in various permutations or combinations with one or more of theother aspects or other subject matter described in this document.

The above detailed description includes references to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of the detailed description. The drawingsshow, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which theinvention can be practiced. These embodiments are also referred togenerally as “examples.” Such examples can include elements in additionto those shown or described. However, the present inventors alsocontemplate examples in which only those elements shown or described areprovided. Moreover, the present inventors also contemplate examplesusing any combination or permutation of those elements shown ordescribed (or one or more aspects thereof), either with respect to aparticular example (or one or more aspects thereof), or with respect toother examples (or one or more aspects thereof) shown or describedherein.

In the event of inconsistent usages between this document and anydocuments so incorporated by reference, the usage in this documentcontrols.

In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patentdocuments, to include one or more than one, independent of any otherinstances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In thisdocument, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that“A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unlessotherwise indicated. In this document, the terms “including” and “inwhich” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms“comprising” and “wherein.” Also, in the following claims, the terms“including” and “comprising” are open-ended, that is, a system, device,article, composition, formulation, or process that includes elements inaddition to those listed after such a term in a claim are still deemedto fall within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the followingclaims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merelyas labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements ontheir objects.

Method examples described herein can be machine or computer-implementedat least in part. Some examples can include a computer-readable mediumor machine-readable medium encoded with instructions operable toconfigure an electronic device to perform methods as described in theabove examples. An implementation of such methods can include code, suchas microcode, assembly language code, a higher-level language code, orthe like. Such code can include computer readable instructions forperforming various methods. The code may form portions of computerprogram products. Further, in an example, the code can be tangiblystored on one or more volatile, non-transitory, or non-volatile tangiblecomputer-readable media, such as during execution or at other times.Examples of these tangible computer-readable media can include, but arenot limited to, hard disks, removable magnetic disks, removable opticaldisks (e.g., compact disks and digital video disks), magnetic cassettes,memory cards or sticks, random access memories (RAMs), read onlymemories (ROMs), and the like.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and notrestrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or moreaspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. Otherembodiments can be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the artupon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is provided to allowthe reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure.It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used tointerpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, in theabove Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together tostreamline the disclosure. This should not be interpreted as intendingthat an unclaimed disclosed feature is essential to any claim. Rather,inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of aparticular disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description as examples or embodiments,with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment, and it iscontemplated that such embodiments can be combined with each other invarious combinations or permutations. The scope of the invention shouldbe determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the fullscope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

The claimed invention is:
 1. A method for tracking of facade elementsfor a structure, the method comprising: receiving an identifierindicative of a facade element, the identifier scanned from the facadeelement; in response, automatically retrieving a record corresponding tothe facade element and generating a presentation for a user indicativeof at least a portion of the record, the presentation including: anindicium of a status of the facade element relative to a specifiedproject comprising multiple facade elements; and at least one selectableelement comprising a first selectable element that, in response to userselection, alters the status of the facade element within the record;and retrieving data indicative of one or more of tooling or fabricationequipment configuration data, based on the retrieved record.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, comprising generating a work order relating to thefacade element relative to the specified project comprising multiplefacade elements, based on the retrieved record, the work ordercorresponding to the data indicative of one or more of tooling orfabrication equipment configuration data.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein retrieving the data comprises retrieving fabrication equipmentconfiguration data comprising one or more operational instructions that,when executed by fabrication equipment, cause the fabrication equipmentto perform at least one of (1) a machining operation, (2) a foldingoperation, (3) a scoring operation, or (4) a cutting operation.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the presentation comprises a secondselectable element that, in response to user selection, triggersgeneration of a presentation for the user prompting the user to providedata indicative of a result of an inspection operation for the facadeelement.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein, in response to userselection of the second selectable element, the method comprisesgenerating a presentation for the user prompting the user to provide animage and a corresponding description documenting the inspectionoperation.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the inspection operationoccurs during or after a fabrication operation associated with theretrieved tooling or fabrication equipment configuration data.
 7. Themethod of claim 4, wherein a status of the of the facade element isupdated in response to a received indication from a user indicative ofwhether the facade element satisfies one or more criteria correspondingto the inspection operation.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the oneor more criteria include at least one of a dimensional criterion or asurface condition criterion.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein thesurface condition criterion comprises a color specification.
 10. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the one or more criteria include at least onecriterion relating to a shape or location of (1) a scribe, (2) an etch,(3) a cut, or (4) a fold in the facade element.
 11. The method of claim1, wherein the facade element comprises at least one of a metal panel, acomposite panel, a panel including glass, a panel including stone, apanel including a polymer material, a panel including a ceramicmaterial, a portion of a metal panel assembly, a portion of a compositepanel assembly, a portion of a stone panel assembly, a portion of aceramic panel assembly, a portion of a polymer panel assembly, or aportion of a glass panel assembly.
 12. The method of claim 1, whereinreceiving the identifier includes receiving data indicative of theidentifier obtained using an optical scanner or camera, the identifierencoded using a bar code applied to the facade element.
 13. The methodof claim 1, comprising, in response to receiving the identifierindicative of the facade element, generating for presentation agraphical representation of at least a portion of the specified projectincluding a visual indicium showing a location of the facade elementamongst other ones of the multiple facade elements in an installation.14. The method of claim 13, wherein the visual indicium includes atleast one of coloring or shading the facade element.
 15. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the visual indicium includes a visual indication ofthe status of the facade element.
 16. A system for tracking of facadeelements for a structure, the system comprising: a user devicecomprising at least one processor circuit and at least one memorycircuit, the memory circuit comprising instructions that, when executedby the at least one processor circuit, cause the user device to: receivean identifier indicative of a facade element, the identifier scannedfrom the facade element; in response, automatically retrieve a recordcorresponding to the facade element and generate a presentation for auser indicative of at least a portion of the record, the presentationincluding: an indicium of a status of the facade element relative to aspecified project comprising multiple facade elements; and at least oneselectable element comprising a first selectable element that, inresponse to user selection, alters the status of the facade elementwithin the record; and retrieve data indicative of one or more oftooling or fabrication equipment configuration data, based on theretrieved record.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the fabricationequipment configuration data includes one or more of operationalinstructions that, when executed by fabrication equipment, cause thefabrication equipment to perform at least one of (1) a machiningoperation, (2) a folding operation, (3) a scoring operation, or (4) acutting operation.
 18. The system of claim 16, wherein the user deviceis coupled to a display or comprises a display; and wherein theinstructions comprise instructions to, in response to user selection ofa second selectable element, generate a presentation for the userprompting, via the display, the user to provide an image and acorresponding description documenting an inspection operation.
 19. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the inspection operation corresponds to afabrication operation associated with the retrieved tooling orfabrication equipment configuration data.
 20. A method for tracking offacade elements for a structure, the method comprising: receiving anidentifier indicative of a facade element, the identifier scanned fromthe facade element; in response, automatically retrieving a recordcorresponding to the facade element and generating a presentation for auser indicative of at least a portion of the record, the presentationincluding: an indicium of a status of the facade element relative to aspecified project comprising multiple facade elements; and at least oneselectable element comprising a first selectable element that, inresponse to user selection, alters the status of the facade elementwithin the record; based on the retrieved record, retrieving fabricationequipment configuration data comprising one or more operationalinstructions that, when executed by fabrication equipment, cause thefabrication equipment to perform at least one of (1) a machiningoperation, (2) a folding operation, (3) a scoring operation, or (4) acutting operation; and generating a work order relating to the facadeelement relative to the specified project comprising multiple facadeelements, based on the retrieved record, the work order corresponding tothe retrieved fabrication equipment configuration data.